Goth Opera
The Absolution The bridge of the Absolution is at once both futuristic and bleak. Cast entirely in dull gunmetal-colored hues with sparse purple and cyan lighting, it gives the impression of a terrible gloom. ''This impression is aided by the most towering presence of the bridge, a throne whose design motif largely consists of 'sharp curves and spikes.' It oversees the entire bridge, and has the best view of the giant viewscreen occupying one wall, curving overhead like images projected onto the inside of a steep dome. ''On the main floor, numerous wall-mounted consoles and freestanding islands bear panels regulating, monitoring, and / or controlling nearly every aspect of the ship. Engineering information can be accessed at the press of a button, communications possesses all the top-of-the-line equipment, and so forth. Most prominently placed among these islands, tellingly, is the weapons console. Seated in his command chair, Cyclonus gazes out at the expanse of stars. Still not fully repaired from having Galvatron blow his head off, Cyclonus currently has an emergency head installed, a spherical unit with two spikes jutting out, that crudely approximates his old look. "LORD GALVATRON GROWS IMPATIENT!" he buzzes through half-repaired transistors in a spooky effect. "THE END MUST COME!" Buzzsaw flies on in and.....lands on the top of Galvatron's chair... Sunder has walked in from the turbolift and stands near Cyclonus. His optics stare at the replacement head, though he gives no outward sign as to what he thinks of it. "We are ready, Lord Cyclonus. To whom do we bring an end?" He flexes his claws intermittently, as if itching to tear something apart. "Is there news of the Matrix? Or something else of importance to the Empire?" Geist marches in like a good widdle storm twooper. The mean machines assemble, and the creep sweep just smirks silently. "EXCELLENT" Cyclonus' replacement head buzzes out the words, little lines of static flaring over the mouthpiece as his two crude optics light up bright red. "WE WILL HEAD TO THE PLANET GOTH." A rather more refined hand presses a control button, to display a screen. "THIS IS THE CURRENT DESTINATION OF THE AUTOBOT SHIP. ADDITIONALLY MATERIAL FROM THE FALSE MATRICES CAME FROM THIS WORLD." Cyclonus' hand clenches into a fist. "IF NOTHING ELSE, I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE" Catechism is standing in the background, the way that Seekers often do. However, rather than staying on the background, she bows and drifts closer to Lord Cyclonus, eager and fearful alike to hear what he has to say - and ow, that shouting hurts her audios! She clamps her hands on either side of her cone and grimaces. "CATECHISM!" Cyclonus barks, raising a finger. "TAKE US TO GOTH, IN THE ROSETTA SPIRAL." His spherical head swivels towards the sweeps. "I AM NOT AT OPTIMAL CAPACITY" his vocoder whines. "WHAT IS THE STATUS OF OUR FORCES?" Geist spares the displayed view but a glance. His optics and gaunt face not content to turn away from this makeshift-Cyclonus. "And you are /fully/ prepared to extract this revenge?" The sweep has no idea for whom in particular Cyclonus may be gunning for or if this is all about his current freak-feature or some other less obvious offense. Buzzsaw makes a holo of Cyclonus' head popping out of a jack-in-the-box with goofy eyes. After all of this is shown....a question mark pops over the video. Catechism barks out an order to the nearest Aerospace guy who knows how to pilot and relays, "Tailwind," stolen shamelessly from Ramjet, "take us to Goth, in the Rosetta Spiral!" Ah, command. It's really just a game of passing the buck. Buzzsaw shows that to Sunder anyways....but anyone can see it. "Our forces appear to be adequate for the task at hand," Sunder says, though not really knowing what the task at hand is. A hint of a smile tugs at Sunder's mouth as he sees Buzzsaw's projected image. He coughs suddenly to hide any hint of laughter. "BUZZ-SAW!" Cyclonus's temporary high-pitched voice cuts through the air as his head swivels 180 degrees easily to stare at the tape-bird. "YOU WOULD BE WI-SE TO REMEMBER I AM STI-ILL CYCLONUS" Buzzsaw looks to Cyclonus and projects a volume meter.....with it slowly shrinking to a lower level. hmm....maybe the tape bird is saying not to yell? Cyclonus' soulless, unexpressionless visage stares at the screen. "WE ARE NEAR-RING GOTH. PREPARE YOUR FORCES. THERE WILL BE NO FAIL-LURE!" he barks Catechism sees that, with the replacement head, Lord Cyclonus's cones are much smaller now. For shame! A proper Cyclonus needs to have glorious cones of command. He's also obnoxiously loud, ugh. The sooner Cyclonus is properly repaired, the better, Catechism thinks. She claps her hands together, and if anyone from Aerospace, aside from gumbies were here, she'd have an inspiring speech, but they aren't, so she doesn't. Instead, she just moves toward the exit. Buzzsaw flies on down and actually picks up hinder before putting him on Sunder's shoulder, before gliding out along with Sunder. Sunder nods to Geist, then has Hinder deposited on his shoulder. "Hang on tight," he advises. He then also heads for the turbolift. "This should be exciting." '''Goth - Plains Of Goth ''Peaks stretch high into the sky, and all around the landscape is black and grey. Lightning forks through the skies and the land is a constant barrage of wind and rain. The place is inhospitable... except that there is life here. Civilisation on Goth has thrived underground, and radiation signatures can be found coming from many nooks and crannies that lead into the planets cavernous interior. Departing down the ramp onto the surface of Goth, Cyclonus is immediately buffeted by the wind and the rain, putting up a hand to protect his emergency head. "SWEEPS - SEEK AND LOCATE LIFE SIGNS!" he orders. "OTHERS - TRACK FOR AUTOBOTS!" Autobot Flagship lands on Rosette Nebula. Autobot Flagship has arrived. Catechism transforms to jet mode to scout out the area. Her sensors are a bit better in jet mode, particularly her logn range sensors. However, she doesn't need better sensors to see when there is a huge honking Autobot spaceship entering the atmosphere. Rodimus Prime arrives from Autobot Flagship . Rodimus Prime has arrived. Red Alert arrives from Autobot Flagship . Red Alert has arrived. Sky Lynx arrives from Autobot Flagship . Sky Lynx has arrived. Gears can be heard turning, and mechanisms unlocking and relocking as parts attach and detach. Soon rises with large draconic neck upward highly and proud, looking before what surrounds him, and the stance stating true authority over his domain. THE SCENE - It is the windswept, barren surface of the planet Goth - and the Decepticons are here first! Cyclonus stands at the base of his ship. After getting his head cannoned off by Galvatron, he now sports an eerie emergency head - a silver sphere with two spikes jutting out of his, and a crude electronic face etched onto the front. The rest of the Decepticons are scattered, searching under his command Buzzsaw is searching all right.....with Sunder. No way he's searching an unknown planet all by himself. Geist admires the environment only mildly, his scope of wicked worlds is widely ranged. Nonetheless, he takes to it's turbulant skies comfortably. Master of fear and assigned a task by Cyclonus 'Mysterio McBuzzbreath.' His radar sweeps as he flies out in a search pattern. <> With no flourish or time wasted, Geist transforms into the spacefaring Sweepcraft mode. A door on Sky Lynx's side whirs open and Rodimus Prime boldly steps out into the rushing wind of Goth. He frowns, not particularly liking the looks of this planet, but no doubt having no choice but to scour it tirelessly on his endless doomed quest across the stars. His telescopic visor slides down over his optics and he pans the environment, initially sweeping over the Decepticons before he redoubles and zooms in on Cyclonus' bizarre head replacement. "I've spotted Decepticons," he announces, leaning back inside the cabin to shout to the rest of the Autobots. "But let's try to avoid a fight. If anyone knows where the Matrix is, it'll be the locals... I don't want a firefight erupting and scaring them off." Sunder transforms and also starts a sensor sweep. <> he shortranges. He scans for any sort of entrance to where anything alive could be hiding. Sunder's head disappears into his chest, his wings fold around him, and now he is in Sweepcraft mode, his headcannon still visible. Sunder sweeps the area. The Large white shuttle known as Sky Lynx attempts to keep higher in the air then what the Decepticons are moving about on. Though Rodimus' request, he can only hope that a firefight doesn't urrupt after all-- it was sometime rather hard for this massive white shuttle to not be seen or heard for the matter, but Sky Lynx does try, with what little he can work with. "AUTO-BOTS!" Cyclonus buzzes as his sensor arrays light up. "DEZZZEPTICONS WE MUST GET TO THE GOAL! HURRY!" He stalks out away from the ship into the wind and rain of Goth, as lightning flashes all around him, sloshing slowly through puddles. "CATECHISM PROTECT ME!" XF-35B Astral Lightning is flying high in the sky, doing a scouting job. She spots... Sky Lynx and Rodimus Prime! Today is going to be a painful day, then. Those are perhaps two of the top three most badass non-combiner Autobots. Still, Catechism circles. Cyclonus told her to look for Autobots, and so she will. Then, Cyclonus demands her... protection? What? Cyclonus could sooner protect her from the Autobots! Sighing, she dives and flies slightly behind Cyclonus, hovering protectively. <'Decepticon> <:D Catechism says, "Rodimus Prime and Sky Lynx sighted." Red Alert is tucked away back in the shuttle. He nods in response to Prime's proclimation, then murmurs, "I'll see what I can do. Sir." Not too long ago, Red Alert swore he'd follow Rodimus into hell and back. Now his faith... in a lot of things... has been shaken. He tilts his head, and reports, "They've spotted us, sir." Buzzsaw shows a holo of the current Cyclonus-head on top of a body much like charlie brown's.... Buzzsaw circles on a lower altitude and perches near the autobot's landing site and literally recording what they do...or trying to with the blasted storms. "If they want to take us on, it'll be their heads," Rodimus growls in response to Red Alert's declaration. "Sky Lynx," Rodimus slaps a bulkhead to get the shuttle's attention, "Take us in towards the nearest settlement. It's time to break out the Univeral Greeting and get some answers around here." <'Decepticon'> <:D Catechism says, "Red Alert sighted." Sweepcraft soon locates a nook within a crannie and tracks the radiation signature eminating from within. <> Sweepcraft descends and transforms to investigate. The Sweepcraft transforms rapidly into the cruel robotic Decepticon Geist. "CON-FIRMED!" Cyclonus buzzes into his radio as he makes his way towards Geist, his head swivelling back and forth as he looks for any more Autobots. "CONVERGE ON THE SWEEPS" Buzzsaw lifts off his perch and flies towards where Geist's signal is coming from. He tries to be coy about it too....too bad he can be seen rather easily. Sunder transforms and lands beside Geist. Baring his talons in case he needs to lash out at anything that might present itself as a surprise attack. <> he shortranges to Geist. Sky Lynx rumbles but complies, however his sensors pick up the activity-- which he really doesn't like. The shuttle quickly moves to attempt to locate the nearest settlement, hopefully without the decepticons attacking-- or following, "Hang on!" Red Alert hangs on. There's not much more to be done at this point, after all. Goth - Tents Of Goth Civilisation on Goth has gone deep underground. The cavernous interior of the world is literally covered in tents. But this is no refugee camp, this is a civilisation. With walls made of a strange, fireproof material, the most ornate tents have sprung up in the dank and gloomy land, flames flickering to light the way, and nearer the denser population areas, jewels and inlaid mirrors sparkle with light. The underground lairs of Goth stretch as far as the eye can see. A sea of ornate tents. No refugee camp, these were built to last, and almost every nook and cranny in the area lead to this astonishing view, of a civilisation living underground. Miles and miles in radius, the central tent is far larger than the rest, ornate and gilted, sparkling from the torchlight. The inhabitants of Goth are huge, Transformer-sized humanoids, dressed in furs and hessian Buzzsaw perches on Sunder's shoulder....then animates a sweatdrop coming off of his head....anime-style. Rodimus Prime returns to Sky Lynx's side door, examining the cavernous subterranean area where it seems all of the Gothians make their home. "Fascinating," he allows himself, "An entire civilization underground." Rather than saying 'hand me the bomb', as Ultra Magnus might, he points towards the largest tent. "Sky Lynx, head for that main tent. I have a feeling anyone who'll be worth our time will be in there." Cyclonus hovers in on his feet-mounted rockets, his spherical head turning back and forth as he scans the area. "AUTOBOTS!" he announces in his sqwarking voice. "DECEPTICONS TO THE CENTRE OF GOTH! WE MUST NOT DELAY!" "As you command Rodimus." Sky Lynx replies. The shuttle then swoops and works its way through the tent city, being careful as he can has he moves about this odd world, thankfully, he did have some ability to glide, which was comming in rather handy here. As he approuched the large tent he slowly moved himself downward, he quickly reported to Rodimus and the others, "The Decepticons will surely be on us soon-- I suggest you make things quick." Sunder indeed does not delay. He heads where his Commander directs, keeping his sensors peeled for hostiles and ready to flay open any with his claws. If the Autobots show up, he'll be ready for them. XF-35B Astral Lightning transforms and lands. Even with hovering, flying around in a cave is for bats, not jets, even if it is a very large cave. Then, she runs after the absurdly loud Cyclonus, who is totally giving away all the position of the Decepticons. She groans. XF-35B Astral Lightning transforms into robot form. Catechism's feet unfold, her arms unfold out of her body, her nosecone rotates through her body and ends up on her shoulders to expose her face, and her wings rotate into position. Swoop has been here the whole time, just going unnoticed. Poor guy. "Yeah, what he say." Geist drops in, easily making his way through the crevice into the Underground. <'Decepticon> Cyclonus says, "CATECHISM-BUZZSAW BARGAIN WITH THIZZ ALIEN" Sky Lynx urrs softly and notices a decepticons-- close by. Very close by, then it dons on him. He slowly cants his head side to side, before shaking it quickly, "OFF!!" Yea-- ride it Buzzsaw! Red Alert is not attacking Cyclonus. He is trying to protect the Gothian! His weapon is out and ready, but he doesn't use it, nor even aim it. "'The King-On-High?'" he asks the alien. "And where can he be found?" Buzzsaw is thrown off rather easily.....onto the chest of the giant goth creature...... The Gothain frowns at Catechism as he rests in his opulance. "Deep down, we are a peaceful race you see. It is important to us that others follow the same - oh!" He is startled as it looks like a ruckus develops. "He will find you, if he deems you worthy!" he nods to Red Alert "You heard our commander. Kill Rodimus!" Sunder says, uttering a guttural growl and charging at the Autobot Leader. He bares his talons and takes a swipe at him. Sunder shifts into his fearsome-looking robot mode. Sunder strikes Rodimus Prime with talon swipe. <'Decepticon'> <:D Catechism says, "As you command, Lord Cyclonus." <'Decepticon'> Buzzsaw says, "Sqwak!" Red Alert's optics widen as Buzzsaw comes flying into the tent, straight for the alien he's trying to protect. He makes a grab for the tape, attempting to intercept him before he hits the Gothian. This move, unfortunately, results in him dropping his rifle. Red Alert succeeds in grasping Buzzsaw, throwing it off-balance. Buzzsaw squaks as he's caught! he almost looks relieved......till he sees who caught him! "SQWAK!" Catechism inquires of the alien, "It's important to you that others... what?" A peaceful race, huh? Then, this should be easy, whatever it is that these Goths want. Catechism is often foolishly optimistic like that. When Red Alert drops his rifle, she tries to snatch up, on the general principle that she really hates Red Alert. Geist is finding it harder than usual to respect Cyclonus. The urge to mock the poor second with the prosthetic noggin is approaching overwhelming levels. Nonetheless, Sweeps need little excuse to fall upon an Autobot. And the Prime is always a prime target when Sweeps have numbers. Geist lets Sunder slide on in for the first fraction of a second of the dance and then gracefully leap-striding at Rodimus from another angle. He drops, pivots on a ground planted hand, and swings out his legs in a capoeira style kick to the lower haf of Rodimus while Sunder goes up top. Geist strikes Rodimus Prime with Break Dancing. As the ruckus starts up, Cyclonus boldly steps forwards to the alien. "WE DEZZEPTICONS ARE A RACE OF PEACE!" he exclaims, raising his hands to the side of his head. "AND SO I GIVE YOU ALL I HAVE - MY HEAD!" With that, he pulls off his false head, and places it on the ground in front of the alien. The only response is a "/what/" Sky Lynx rumbles softly, however his sensors also detect more decepticons... inside. "..Blast it all.." He mutters to himself as he looks into the tent. The question was-- to go inside or to not go inside. After all, Rodimus did say stand on guard, but-- was that really Sky Lynx's style to truely stay outside on guard duty.. not really. Red Alert has an arm full of Buzzsaw, and he really doesn't know what to do with it. He was just trying to keep Buzzsaw away from the Gothian! He sees Catechism grabbing for his rifle, and hisses, "No you don't!" before attempting to kick it out of her grasp (OOC: 'grasp' me to see if you can grab it?), but then he /stares/ at Cyclonus. "/What?!/ <'Decepticon'> Geist says, "Alright. Whoever fitted Cyclonus with his new head... start updating your resume." <'Decepticon'> Cyclonus bzzzzzzt Cyclonus simply stand still, a headless torso, waving back and forth before collapsing <'Decepticon'> Buzzsaw shows a general image of Cyclonus' head....with a clothesline full of clothes between the 'ears'. Rodimus Prime stumbles back, raising one arm to ward off Sunder but not preventing some fresh scratch marks from being rendered into his highly-polished chestplate. Geist also connects, knocking Rodimus clear on his aft -- and out through the tent doors, conveniently. Pushing himself up to a crouch, he makes the "come get some" gesture to the Sweeps, silently. <'Decepticon'> <:D Catechism says, "Sweeps, Buzzsaw, we'll recover Cyclonus's body... again... once we have determined if there is anything valuable on this planet." Rodimus Prime glances to Sky Lynx as he tumbles past him. "Hi, Sky Lynx. I thought I told you to keep the Decepticons out?" He asks, glibly. Buzzsaw tinktinktinktinks on Red Alert's arm....trying to get free. much like woody woodpecker.......except metallic....and Buzzsaw isn't woody. Catechism snatches up Red Alert's rifle, woo-hoo! It's not like she has any idea how to use a rifle. She's used to guns that are attached to her arms. She's just being a jerk. Then Cyclonus tears off his head and falls over. She facepalms heavily. Then, she looks up back at the alien, striking a more commanding pose, and she asks, "What must we do to prove our worth and see this Sky-Fire?" The Gothian looks about at all the chaos, rising from his chair and waving his hands. "Really, REALLY now!" he bellows. "Show some RESPECT! Do you fight like ANIMALS?" The Gothian then clasps his hands together as Catechism speaks. "Well" he responds calmly. "You must simply tell a tale of why you came to this place. If it is deemed worthy and noble of cause, then the King-On-High will deem to visit you" Red Alert frowns, and releases Buzzsaw. He inclines his head towards the Gothian. "Forgive me, sir. I only sought to protect yo- Hey!" Catechism has his rifle. Damn it all. Catechism has his rifle. His hands ball into fists and he fumes, before continuing, this time speaking more slowly as he works to control his frustration, "To. Protect. You." "..sir?" Sky Lynx just stares down at Rodimus before he growls softly toward the tent, "Apparently they were-- or.. is this sarcasim?" Sky Lynx asks quickly, moving slightly in to protect Rodimus from those decepticons wishing continue to follow him outside. <'Decepticon'> <:D Catechism says, "...a tale of why we came to this place. SLAG. If the Autobots whip out Kup, we're smelted!" <'Decepticon'> Big-Brother-Sweep Sunder says, "We are after this "Sky Fire" are we not? I wonder...is that like "Jet-Fire"?" <'Decepticon'> Buzzsaw projects a picture within a picture? with an arrow pointed towards the frame and a question mark. maybe he means a picture show to back up Catechism? And guess who came to the party? That's right, it's Kup and he's stepping in through the tent right now, looking behind himself as he enters, probably wondering how/why Rodimus just left. He steps up to Cyclonus's carcass, gives it a none-too-gentle kick to test to see if he's really KO'd, then remarks, "Ehh, now I know you Decepticons like to stay a HEAD of each other, but that's a little ridiculous. Heheheh." Buzzsaw floats away from Red Alert and flies over to....land on a perch somewhere in the tent. Red Alert covers his face with his right hand as Kup kicks the unconscious Cyclonus. Not... the best way to emphasize a peaceful nature. Maybe Kup isn't the best choice for this particular story, after all. Geist and company are acutely aware of whom they passed to enter the tent. Do they care? Nope. Geist slips through first and raises his arm, his palm bends back to expose a wrist barrel. And out swarms a cloud of purple glowing stinger drones. The drone fly towards Rodimus Prime as geist says, "What a lovely playground, and such marvellous playmates." Geist misses Rodimus Prime with his Stinger Drone Swarm attack. The Gothian fidgets in his seat slightly, looking between the Autobots and Decepticons. "Well?" he mutters. "Are any of you here for a reason?" Catechism rubs the side of her cone and glances away for a moment, and in a smaller voice, she asks, "And... if we can't tell this story, what happens?" The Goths are a peaceful people, right? Maybe, if the Decepticons' story fails, she can just shove the Goths over and steal their tents or something dastardly like that. Then Kup shows up, proving that Catechism should never speculate on how a situation could get worse. The Battle Hunger starts to take over Sunder's processor, and his optics glow ever so slightly. He attacks Rodimus again, lashing out with his claws as deadly acid drips from them. "Indeed," Sunder says, as he lashes at Rodimus Prime while speaking to the Gothian, "We are here for the Sky Fire." Sunder misses Rodimus Prime with his Acid Claws attack. "Well then..." the Gothain says in a small voice at Catechism. "Then we string you up and execute you like all the other beings that came to our world" Buzzsaw SQWAK in exclamation! 6,6 Red Alert's optics widen and he glances up at Kup, then down at the Gothain. "Tough audience," he murmurs, before taking a moment to glare at Catechism. Who still has his rifle, durnit. Buzzsaw pops up a holo screen (out of nothingness) and shows the planet and a fiery red ball....then points a green arrow at it. Kup nods. "Yeah, I'm here for a reason." Staring down at Cyclonus, Kup shrugs. "Ehh, and as for that kick, don't worry about it, that's an old diagnostic trick we call "mechanical agitation." Works on all kinds 'a machines." Kups smirks big and wide. "Why, I knew this guy called Hot Rod, and lemme tell ya, he had all kinds 'a things wrong with him, but a little "mechanical agitation"--" He demonstrates his point by kicking Cyclonus again. "--usually set 'im right. Though, I dunno, this guy looks like he's really out of it. He must need sumthin' a little heavier to fix 'im." Blinking Kup says, "Ehh, sorry, in my old age I tend to ramble a bit. So, you wanna know why we're here? Well, it all began about two weeks ago, when our leader, Rodimus Prime, who you just met, dropped a little bit 'a bad news on us..." Catechism narrows her optics. Strung up and executed. Ah. Time to try her hand at spinning a tale. She knows Decepticon dogma, and it is on that dogma she draws now to craft her tale. She explains, "We are Transformers, the lot of us. Legend says we were created by a being known as primus. Some think he was a god. Some think he was just a Quintesson, but whatever he was, he gifted our species with three great gifts: the Oracle, the Seal, and the great of all, the Matrix. It is a repository of knowledge of the leaders of our kind, and it is the only bane for the world-devourer, Unicron." She points over at Rodimus Rrime. "He had the Matrix last, but he lost it. We have spent weeks facing every kind of challenge imaginable, trying to find it again, because it is so precious to us. We have even faced the dead walking! Now, our path brings us here, to your world, which we think may hold a clue. That is why I am here. That's why all of us are here." She holds out her arms wide as she concludes. Catechism neatly glosses over any mention of their ever-lasting war. Kup's story is going to be better, she just knows. Curses. The Gothian gives a polite clap at Buzzsaw's simple sketch, and then turns to Kup and Catechism. He then politely claps at Catechism before staring at Kup. "Brevity is also a virtue!" he exclaims Red Alert periodically lifts his head and looks off, at a spot of the tent wall that might seem random. It is, in fact, the spot most directly between him and the battle going on, which he can hear rather clearly. He cringes as Kup kicks Cyclonus /again/, then frowns at Catechism. Then he blinks as an idea comes to him. "Ah. Yes. That is /indeed/ why we are /all/ here. And I thank you, /sister/, for retrieving my... peacekeeper for me, since I dropped it while attempting to keep him," he nods towards Buzzsaw, "from harm. Now, if you would kindly return it..." he reaches towards Catechism and /smiles./ "Now don't get me wrong, Rodimus is a good lad," Kup continues. "But he needs to pull his head outta his aft sometimes, ya know? He lost the damn Matrix of Leadership, the most sacred symbol of the Autobot cause, and he didn't tell nobody. Not even me, and I'm the guy that taught him everything he knows! So, anyway, we gotta find this Matrix, not just because it's sacred to us, but because it may be the only way we can stop an enemy that's even worse than the Decepticons." He gestures at the Decepticons in a general way. "We went to all kindsa places. Like a planet choked with bureaucracy, a planet with strange temple games, some kinda western theme park planet, another planet where everybody was killed off by an evil Matrix, a zombie planet, a ghost planet, a steampunk planet, and even a starship with killer cleaning drones. And while we did find MATRIXES, we didn't quite catch the one we were looking for. And that's why we're here, mister. We need that Matrix, or the Autobots, and maybe the whole Galaxy, are done for." Kup nods, lips in a thin line. Rodimus Prime ducks Geist's stinger drones, then leaps to the side from Sunder's acid claw swipe. He still isn't retaliating -- yet. Perhaps because he's still in view of the entrance of the tent. Turning his back on the Sweeps, he sprints right up towards Sky Lynx -- looking like he's going to collide with the other Autobot, even. "Aaaaah!" the Gothian's eyes light up. "You seek the /Matrix/? Yes, the King-On-High has heard your pleas, and he will... ooh my Lord!" He falls to his knees as a bright light descends from the high ceiling of the tent and the ghostly form... of Alpha Trion appears. "MY CHILDREN!" he intones loudly, raising a spectral hand. "YOU HAVE JOURNEYED SO FAR AND SEARCHED FOR SO LONG... YET NOW YOUR LONG QUEST IS OVER!" As Rodimus nears Sky Lynx, Sky Lynx seems to snatch out gently with his teeth for the autobot commander, lift him in the air, roll over as he also leaps into the air, transform, and allow Rodimus to snatch ahold of the door, wing, or whatever he chooses as he bolts away from the tent with Rodimus(hopefully). With gears spinning and body shifting, the long draconic neck seems to sink back into the shuttle itself, the head of the beast attaching into body of the shuttle and the once mouth with rows of teeth, seeming to vanish. The blue legs of the lower half, seems to fold into the box itself. The mighty Sky Lynx now looking like a harmless shuttle craft. Rodimus Prime begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Geist, Cyclonus, Sunder, NASA Shuttle , Buzzsaw. Catechism glares over at Kup, her arms crossed, and she protests, "The Matrix doesn't belong to the Autobots. It belongs to /all/ Transformers. There may come a day that your Darkest Hour is lit by a Decepticon." Then, suddenly, the ghost of Alpha trion appears out of nowehere. Catechism is gobsmacked for a moment, her jaw dropping, but... what if this is another hologram? She's not any child of Alpha Trion, anyway! The Decepticons are the heirs of Straxus, he of the axe. Sky Lynx retreats from the area swiftly, outdistancing all pursuit and parting shots. Buzzsaw looks towards the bright light and.....passes dead out. *THUNK* x,x <'Decepticon'> <:D Catechism says, "Sweeps, get a whiff of this 'Alpha Trion'. Is it just a hologram, can you tell?" Kup scowls at Catechism. "Frag you. You Decepticons destroy everything you touch, and you ain't gonna touch the Matrix if I got--" Then the tent fills with an odd light, and when Kup looks to see what it is, his jaw falls open. "No fraggin' way. Alpha Trion?... Nah..." He shakes his head, muttering under his breath, "Has to be just a hologram." The ghost of Alpha Trion continues to hover above everyone. "The Matrix is safe in my possession my children!" he exclaims. "I will use it to banish the evil Vector Zeta. You may depart from this place knowing all is safe and that your quest is over!" Red Alert totally fails to get Catechism to give back his rifle. Sads! However, further thoughts are derailed as Alpha Trion shows up, filling the tent with light. His mouth opens, jaw dropping, and then he tilts his head and sniffs at the air. He frowns in consternation as his enhanced senses fail to resolve the matter for him. "I... but..." then his optics widen. "How did you kn-" Then he breaks off very suddenly and dives through the ghost, ripping aside the curtain directly behind it. Geist headshakes watching Rodimus Prime pull a Star Wars worthy escape in the Millenium Dragon. "Well that was... anticlimactic." He gives his beard a single chinstroke. Buzzsaw twitches on the ground. Kup looks up at Alpha Trion, looking a bit bewildered. "It's in your possession? But hold on, how are you gonna do that? I mean, uh, maybe we can help ya, or sumthin'." Catechism snaps at Kup, "The Decepticons have brought more advancement to science and technology than I can list in one night! Combiner technology, the spacebridge, the original six-changer - do I need to go on? We don't ruin everything, only that which deserves ruination." She stares up at the ghost, her hands clenched in fists of rage, disbelieving, and she denies, "You? You would banish Vector Zeta, you old, dead man? Straxus didn't agree with your methods, and neither do I! The Matrix is an artifact of light and life, and it belongs to the living!" Sunder growls in disgust as Rodimus flees. And then his sensors detect a disturbance in the Force. Then he sees Red Alert tackle the curtain behind the "ghost". Something buzzes in his sensors as he tries to scan for holographic projection equipment. <'Decepticon'> Big-Brother-Sweep Sunder says, "If it's indeed a hologram, it is a good one." <'Decepticon'> <:D Catechism says, "Tricurses!" "Go away, go away, leave this place!" the 'ghost' chants. As Red Alert tears down the curtain, what does he see? Behind the curtain is a lab, full of high-tech machinery. And in the centre of the lab is a large perspex box covered in spikes and machinery. And in that box is something tha tlooks very much like the Matrix! And in front of them all, talking into a Microphone, is... THUNDERWING. "Go away, I, Alpha Trion command it!" he keeps muttering, before staring up, wide-opticed. "Aaaah." Rodimus Prime leans out of Sky Lynx's door, glancing back down at the tent. "It looks like the Sweeps aren't following... Whatever's going down in that tent, it must be something. Can you take us back in, buddy? Keep the thrusters low... I don't want Round 2 with the Sweeps." Red Alert's optics widen and he charges through the curtain. Goth - Secret Lab Deep in the capital city of Goth lies a secret lab. Hidden behind one of the myriad mazes of curtains, this lab is undoubtably cybertronian in origin, huge rows of machinery beeping away, the hum of high level technology permeating the atmosphere. Sky Lynx rumbles and does as he is ordered, he keeps his thrusters at low, and once Rodimus is out, Sky Lynx follows in with his split form. Catechism is still painted like G2 Ramjet, because of Fleet's treachery, incidentally. She remembers that Ramjet said, oh sure, he'd get her an audience with Thunderwing. Then Ramjet went off on... holiday or whatever it is he's doing right now, and she never got that audience. Sighting the renegade scientist, she dives through the curtain, quite, quite furious. This would likely go better had she indeed had that audience. With a loud snap, the bottom half of Sky Lynx lets go, with a golden robotic Lynx like head coming into view. It lets out a slight roar as its shakes it body and seems ready for action when needed. The upper half of Sky Lynx, where the once four legs where attached shows two bird-like, red robotic legs, slightly hanging down. Ever seeming so eligate and perhaps, a bit fragile compared to what was once there. Once one robot now split into two. Stands the Lynx and The Sky, seeming ready for anything to come their way. Thunderwing is pretty much as we saw him last, yet now he sports a rather nifty purple cloak, and his shoulder is etched with the symbol of a pentagram. "Oh no no no!" he mutters, racing across the lab as he throws the microphone down. Various Cybertronian technicians are also in the lab, most of them near the box containing the Matrix-like object, and they begin to scatter as their lair is uncovered. Thunderwing points, at no-one in particular. "I warned you, I warned you away, this is not /for you/, you don't know what you're dealing with!" Kup stomps in, tearing aside the curtains, and looking like he's spoiling for a fight. "You!" He stabs a finger at the Decepticon scientist. "Hand it over, we ain't playin' around anymore." He also manages to aside to Catechism, "Well, gee-wiz, looks like a Decepticon might have the Matrix after all. Waddaya wanna bet he was tryin' to make a weapon out of it, like all yer other "great" inventions?" <'Decepticon> Big-Brother-Sweep Sunder says, "Thunderwing is behind this skullduggery!" <'Decepticon'> <:D Catechism says, "So I... see." <'Decepticon'> Big-Brother-Sweep Sunder says, "Shall we kill him? Or take him alive?" Red Alert is actually the first to dive through the curtain, having been the first to rip it aside. He stops short, letting Kup take the lead, but does scan and sniff around the lab. "Everybody says that!" he exclaims in frustration. "/Everybody/ goes on about how we don't know what we're dealing with... why does /everyone/ expect /no one/ to try and figure it out!" <'Decepticon'> <:D Catechism says, "Alive." <'Decepticon'> <:D Catechism says, "We cannot afford to miss the chance of interrogating him." <'Decepticon'> Geist says, "Whoopdie doo. Do we currently want him dead, alive, allied or as experimental fodder? If only Cyclonus had been a better mission head." <'Decepticon'> Big-Brother-Sweep Sunder coughs. <'Decepticon'> Shadow says, "Hm...?" Catechism growls to Kup, "Spacebridges aren't weapons! ...yet." They're working on that, she's sure. Not having Scrapper around to science up the place is kind of a pain. She demands, smacking a fist into her other palm, "If we don't know what we're dealing with, /tell us/! Or I'll let Geist make you talk the hard way." Catechism wonders if this is the time-travelling Thunderwing or if he hasn't done that yet. Time travel is confusing. Thunderwing shakes a fist at Kup as he swirls his cloak, rounding the large box that contains what looks very much now like the Matrix. The box itself is covered in all manner of spikes and devilish probes. "Oh but it IS a weapon!" he cries at Kup. "And that is why YOU want it too! But you dont' know what it is capable of, /I DO/. It was one of the last recorded wishes of Straxus, the Straxus Strategum, that a secondary Matrix be developed. For millions of years, teams have worked in secret... did you not WONDER why you found so many false ones? Did you not WONDER why as soon as you started looking, they seemed to be everywhere you looked? Straxus knew, he KNEW that one day Vector Zeta would return, and he KNEW that he could not always rely on the Matrix Holder. But none of the experiments were successful, they COULD not be. And then one day..." he pats the case. "One day, we found it. And we wished we had NOT!" Geist is of the last of the Con party to pass into the lab. "Thunderwing, my full attention is something everyone who has had it has come to regret. Don't make me make you spring a leak in front of the Autobots of all people." Sunder lunges forward, attempting to grasp Thunderwing and seize him. "Now, my brother has skills in making you talk. So talk," he hisses, "Tell us what you are doing here." He wiggles his talons at Thunderwing menacingly. "I too have my ways," he adds. Sunder misses Thunderwing with his grasp attack. "But wait," Red Alert interrupts. "Some of those... those false starts were initiated by Autobots! Maxitran, for instance." It's not much of an informatino leak. Everyone else here knows it already. And the pay-off might be worth it. Meanwhile, Red Alert continues to watch the room. Kup folds his arms across his chest. "Yeah, yer real mysterious, Thunderwing. Though I gotta admit I was a bit curious about this whole adventure myself. So alright, you found the Matrix, you tried to copy it, then what?" He watches Sunder as he tries, unsuccessfully, to attack the Super Pretender. "Hey, now, we were havin' this wonderful conversation til you butted in." "You IGNORANT Sweep!" hisses Thunderwing as Sunder comes up at him, the barrel on his arm glowing a deadly hue as a white beam arks out from it towards Sunder. And then he turns to Red Alert. "Ten Million years ago!" he whispers hoarsely, and his face it lit by the glow from the box beneath him, a sickly turquoise. "Ten Million years ago, the peace had crumbled as the Fallen's army marched the land. And so Straxus formed an alliance. A FOURTH way. Autobots, Decepticons, all together, all united where the others failed. And some stayed united. Some gathered others. Time passed, and most was forgotten, as all things that should not are." Thunderwing strikes Sunder with his Cyclone Cannon attack. Red Alert jumps, startled, as Thunderwing turns directly towards him. He narrows his optics. "Then Maxitran, those at Bakrane... they were still working with you." His optics dart towards the box that lights Thunderwing's face, then up at Thunderwing. Catechism snarls, "Forgotten? If we didn't keep forgetting everything /relevant/ to /saving the universe/, we wouldn't have all these issues! Who are you to keep this knowledge for yourself? What if... what if you suffered a cascade failure tomorrow and died, taking all this knowledge with you? We'd all be up a lava creek with no paddle!" She is clearly both disgusted and furious, and she tries to stalk closer to the box with the Matrix-like object. Kup frowns. "Vial probably was, too. And both sides would consider all these guys traitors, but they probably thought they were doin' the real work 'a saving the galaxy. Just like you do, don't you, Thunderwing?" Kup noticeably makes no effort to help the Sweep fight Thunderwing. Hinder has been here all along, just observing. Honest. Buzzsaw is out on the floor....someone kicked himin. Rodimus Prime gallops in on a Sky Lynx, his legs stradling the the large Autobot's neck. In one hand, he now holds his finned black rifle, though he keeps the barrel pointed towards the ceiling... for now. "Woah there, Sky Lynx!" He pats the side of Lynx's neck, trying to get him to slow down. "Thunderwing..." Rodimus growls, glaring down at the Decepticon mad scientist. He promptly levels his weapon at him. "All of this is -your- fault!" <'Decepticon'> <:D Catechism says, "Rodimus Prime claims that 'all of this' is Thunderwing's fault." Sunder yelps as he's hit by a stunning blast. He's knocked to the ground and twitches, but cannot move. The yelp isn't just a cry of surprise and pain. It's a hint to Geist to avenge him. Did Sunder know Thunderwing had a disable? Probably not. "Knowledge comes at a price!" Thunderwing rounds the box towards Catechism, staring into the heart of the Matrix. "Too many knowing could have ruined everything, and it nearly did. We needed a weapon to use. Tornedron. Failed. The second Galvatron who could have stood against Vector Zeta. Destroyed. The only hope was the Matrix again. But we traced its path across the galaxy, screaming its arc of chaos, as it changed, was corrupted..." He turns directly towards Rodimus Prime, pointing a finger. "No Prime, YOU! YOU! All actions have their consequences Prime, and when you absorbed the ESSENCE OF UNICRON into the Matrix, you corrupted the only weapon we HAD! You doomed us ALL! Because now, away from you, the infection has SPREAD!" He gestures at the Matrix, held in its box, and it can be seen that the glow is not its usual blue, but a more sickly turquoise. The Lynx slows down as he is whoahed.. a part of him-- thinks he looks foolish, another part of him-- just wants to laugh that it isn't that part having to do this! The Blue Lynx growls softly, but doesn't say much yet, just a snarl, stare, and watch. The other half not far if a fight was to indeed come. Geist sighs... "Thunderwing..." And he fades from view, activating his invisibility cloaking field. <'Decepticon'> <:D Catechism says, "...Thunderwing blames Rodimus Prime for... infecting the Matrix with Unicron?" <'Decepticon'> Big-Brother-Sweep Sunder says, "He speaks nonsense. As ususal." Kup is nearly floored by that revelation. "What... he absored the essence of Unicron into the Matrix?" He stares, dumbfounded, at Rodimus. "Is that true, lad? Is he... is he IN there?" Hinder yeeks and jumps clear of Sunder's shoulder as the Sweep hits the floor, tumbling to a stop but then shaking herself off and dashing for cover right away. Her little red eyes seearch the room, the spot Buzzsaw where he's 'napping'. She starts to sneak around the perimeter of the area toward her fellow cassette...well, she tries anyway. Really, how sneaky is a WHITE cassette? <'Decepticon'> Shadow just stays quiet like a good little minion. Catechism argues, "Not enough knowing could ruin everything, too! Wait, what was so special about the second Galvatron? What's wrong with the Galvatron we have right now? And..." she makes a face like she just aet a pickle that had a surprize hot pepper inside, "wait, did you set up that whole thing with two Galvatrons on purpose? I thought that it was an accident..." Thunderwing shakes his head. "No, that was an accident, I simply attempted to push the /right/ solution forward, the leader that /could/ resist what is to come. But it is too late!" A gauntleted hand points at Rodimus. "All because of HIM! We tried to extract the Unicron essence, it is too deeply embedded. It cannot be allowed to survive, for ALL our sakes! Make the right choice this time Prime, the safety of the Universe over the Autobots!" Rodimus Prime keeps his weapon trained on Thunderwing, sliding off of Sky Lynx's neck to the ground and landing with flexed knees. "It's true, Kup. At the end of the Neocron Incident," he replies. "It was the only way to contain Unicron's power. I did what had to be done." He starts walking towards Thunderwing. "If there's anyway to repair the Matrix, you have to let me have access to it, Thunderwing. All of your laboratory equipment isn't going to solve anything -- you're only delaying the inevitable confrontation." Red Alert listens and observes and constantly moves his head about, trying to keep an eye on everything at once. And he mostly does. He's good at that. He seems... remarkably unshocked at Thunderwing's declarations. Indeed, he just nods, as though having had a suspicion confirmed. Then, he eyes some of the equipment, and his optics narrow. Damn him, but he half agrees with Straxus. Red Alert heads towards the nearest terminal, still on, and tries to activate it. If he has trouble, he'll plug in more directly. Lynx rumbles softly still listening and watching the decepticons activities. If one made a flinch to attack Rodimus, he'll strike. Soon not behind came the Sky Unit half, just as aware as its Feline part. It too kept and eye, however it was seen in both of them, they did not like the situation, but they could do little, for both knew, this was Prime's deal, not theirs. Catechism is very frustrated, and she asks again, "But what's wrong with the Galvatron we have? He won in battle by being all that a Decepticon is!" Read: by cheating. She groans as Rodimus Prime admits that he did indeed stuff Unicron inside the Matrix, and she mutters lowly, "Leave it to an Autobot mess everything up. Way to go." So... end of the world, huh? Slaggit. <'Decepticon'> <:D Catechism says, "...slaggit. Unicron /is/ in the Matrix! Fragging Autobots, screwing up the sacred artifacts of our whole species..." "Because you've done so well so far, haven't you Prime?" Thunderwing responds mockingly. "There must be another way to destroy Vector Zeta before it is too late, before the /merging/ is to occur. Do you understand? Your foolhardy meddling has let the power of a /GOD/ unchecked into this realm. A malevolant force that will reach into every corner of every time in every world and smother it forever. But the Matrix as it is... it is more a force for EVIL! You shall not have it. NONE SHALL!" Thunderwing slams a button down, and the lighting in the lab dims to a red. "Total destruct" he hisses. "I have triggered an anomaly device. It will detonate in five breems, taking this entire system with it into an artificial black hole. The end justifies the means!" <'Decepticon'> Shadow says, "..." <'Decepticon'> Shadow says, "Err. How is Unicron in the Matrix?" <'Decepticon'> <:D Catechism says, "Rodimus Prime put Unicron in there after the Neocron debacle. It must have seemed like a good idea at the time." Buzzsaw suddenly awakens when Thunderwing slams down the destruct mechanism! "SQWAAAAAAAAKKKKK!" and tries to fly out of the tent! Ramming into anyone in his way on the way out. Lynx speaks up at last, optics wide, "You can't do this!" The Lynx hisses softly, "You will destroy several plants-- life-- awhole star system!" The Sky unit then speaks up, "Are bloody mad?!" Then they both, "Do you not realize such a black hole at that size could grow out of proportion and destroy everything even further out if it is not controlled! You could be the end of us all, not the matrix!" <'Decepticon'> Shadow says, "This does not bode well..." The unseen Sweep whispers from one end of the room, "Thunderwing, you become more and more transparent every time ... I see you." And then from another end, "Your schemes within schemes. Your lies within truths within lies. And your tell is showing..." And then when the room goes red... Geist attempts to grab Thunderwing by the back of the neck to smash his face down into the displayed Matrix. Geist succeeds in grasping Thunderwing, throwing him off-balance. Kup listens to Rodimus confirm Thunderwing's story, and sighs. "Yeah, can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing, lad. There ain't no threat worse than Unicron. But..." He turns on Thunderwing. "That don't give you the right to just give up on the Matrix and the galaxy! We're gonna take this thing from you if I gotta rip yer head off and beat the rest of your body to death with it! YAAAAHHHH!" He throws himself heedlessly at the Super Pretender, hands outstretched! Kup strikes Thunderwing with Tackle. Hinder YEEKS again as Buzzsaw wakes up VERY abruptly right in front of her, and she watches him run away like brave Sir Robin! Red Alert's optics widen as Thunderwing triggers the self-destruct. Then he does plug himself in directly. No time to be gentle... but damn it, he's been interfacing with far too many strange computers laterly! Catechism sees that Thunderwing is not going to explain why the Galvatron they have is not good enough. She protests, "Thunderwing - don't do this! We can stitch Vector Zeta back into the Fifth again, on Alkor Zephyr, and give the Matrix time to recover, time to be purified." However, as he seems to be in crazy science mode, she dives for the black hole detonation device, looking to make a go at defusing it. If she doesn't succeed... well, they'll all die a bit sooner, that's all. "You have no right to lecture on on good and evil, Thunderwing," Rodimus replies sternly, aiming his rifle for Thunderwing's fuel pump. "This is the end of the road for you!" But then Kup rushes in the way! "Dammit Kup!" Lowering his rifle, Rodimus charges forward towards the Matrix -- trying to pull it free from Thunderwing's equipment, if he can! "I am a scientist, I am not an IMBECIELE!" Thunderwing yells at Sky Lynx as the lights flash, and then Geist smashes his head into the cube. "This is a surgical strike!" he hisses. "Nothing more, nothing less. If you Autobots had less /emotion/ in your actions, you would achieve far, far more!" Everyone else might want to die, but Thunderwing does not, as he transforms to his spacecraft mode, his rockets blasting into the air as he tears through the ceiling... leaving everyone else on a planet about to explode into a black hole. With the infected Matrix trapped in Thunderwing's apparatus. It is just one of THOSE days! The spacecraft transforms into a gigantic armoured mode Thunderwing retreats from the area swiftly, outdistancing all pursuit and parting shots. The Matrix seems heavily encased in a wide variety of metals. And the closer one gets to it, away from the protection of the machinery, the more a hum permeates the air. Catechism may fight that the detonation device is very small, yet devilishly complex. Two wires lead into a box that is crammed full of booby traps and microscopic switches Kup oofs as Thunderwing unexpectedly transforms right in front of him, throwing him off in the process. Kup stumbles away, then shakes his fist up at Thunderwing. "I'll show you a surgical strike, Thunderwing! Get back down here! You fragging coward!" He sighs, lowering his fist. "Damn." Catechism would curse her inability to shoot at Thunderwing or follow him - she's sure she would be fast enough if she was in alternate mode - but right now, she's just trying to make sense of this detonation device. It's way, way over her head, having been designed by a scientist and occultist without compare. She pulls out her demolition tool kit and first tries to defuse the obvious boody traps before looking for the less obvious booby traps. She looks over at Red Alert, filling with loathing, and she demands, "You, Red Alert! You know security systems! Get over here and give me some help! Geist, I taugth you explosives, come here, too!" "The Matrix...!" Rodimus gasps as he nears the trapped artifact. Without hesitating, his right hand transforms into a whirring buzzsaw blade, and he begins to furiously hack away at the various instruments securing the Matrix in place! My preciousssss Hinder scrambles full speed to the only other Decepticon she's familiar with, Catechism. The delicate scientific instruments are sliced away under Rodimus' blade as the Matrix comes free of its moorings, shaking somewhat, the hum getting louder and angrier as Rodimus approaches it Sunder eventually comes to, rubbing his head. "What in the slag hit me?" he murmurs. There was little either Sky or Lynx could do in the moment. Expect one to watch.. and the Lynx to start to pace as it watched Rodimus hack away like mad at the box. He would offer his help, but-- well-- he was affraid the Prime might bit his paw. Prime-rabbies anyone? Geist decloaks and looks back and forth from the unblemished Thunderface flying away to the unblemished Matrix display case and Rodimus trying to pull it free. And now Catechism calls for his brain... "What a curious crossroad." He glances over to where Sunder was last seen rendered imobile. "We should have just bombarded the place as soon as Cyclonus took his head off... Sunder.." He gives a head motion indicating getting the Matrix before Rodimus might be nice, and then approaches Catechism. "Impending doom, yes? Does that frighten you?" Red Alert unplugs himself from the terminal and then rushes over to where Catechism is working. "I /don't/ take orders from /you/," he points out as he leans forward to examine black hole device, trying to see if there's an obvious way to decrypt the security measures. Rodimus Prime stoops to catch the tumbling Matrix, his hand transforming back to normal. He moves in slow motion as the turquoise light radiates from its crystal core, catching it just before it strikes the ground. Strange new age keyboard music fills the room as he stands up, the Matrix in his hands once more. He seems enraptured by it -- almost unsure what to do with his new prize. Rather than place it in his chest, he tucks it under one arm, moving to Red Alert's side. "Is there anything I can do to help, Red Alert?" The angry hum from the matrix subsides a little. The light is sickening. It is like your pet run over in the road, your family lying dead from a bomb blast. It is the feeling of cheating in an exam, or getting caught shoplifting. It is the feeling of /wrongness/ that simply oozes from within Lynx then hears the humming, something was off, it caused him to stop and growl, "..Rodimus-- something is wrong.." Lynx just stares. However as Rodimus just tucks it under his arm, Lynx rumbles softly. It still made him feel uneasy. However the Sky Unit was still watching the decepticons, which he quickly piped up to them, "If you decepticons don't lend a hand, I'll make sure you go missing one... or both." Red Alert glances up as Rodimus approaches behind him. For a moment, his optics dart down to where Rodimus holds the Matrix tucked beneath his arm, then back up. Then he shivers. "I... sir, I think I'll work better if you move that... thing away from me." Kup watches Rodimus Prime with a look of deep concern. The light from the Matrix also gets his attention. Rubbing his chin, Kup mutters to himself, "Why's he just carryin' it?..." Geist turns his head slowly towards Rodimus Prime... "Shut up." And then tries to punk slap him upside the head. Geist strikes Rodimus Prime with Smack. Rodimus Prime glances down at the evil glow coming from the Matrix. "Right..." Then Geist pimpslaps him. Rodimus scowls with annoyance, turning to face the Sweep. "Oh yeah. I owe you this." He points his wrist barrels at Geist's chest and fires off a stun blast. Rodimus Prime misses Geist with his Ener-Cuffs attack. Catechism snarls at Geist, "Impending doom doesn't scare me - if I'm dead, what the frag am I going to care?" She then seethes at Sky Lynx, "Help? What does it /look/ like I'm doing, you overgrown shuttlebus? I'm the only one trying to get rid of the impedning black hole!" All these crazy booby traps, but then she looks over at the black hole bomb itself... wait... no traps here? Thunderwing was overthinking things, putting all those traps in the detonator and nothing in the actual bomb! Catechism moves to cut the two wires.... ...and maybe doom everyone. Catechism is not the only one trying to get rid of an impending black hole! Red Alert came over to help her a whole pose ago! The bomb detonator continues to beep as Catechism handles it and snips the wires, and... Nothing. The lights in the lab flicker back on as the complex detonator is detached from the rather simple wires. It seems overthinking things is bad But Red Alert didn't actually /do/ anything useful. He stood there and looked cool! Hinder follows Catechism again, not wanting to get too far from anyone she knows. Too many big, unfamiliar feet in here. He provided his moral support. And got the Prime with the bad Matrix to back up. Geist isn't quite as 'slow' as he used to be back at the Olympics. With a dancers grace and a magicians speed, the creep-sweep ducks and rolls, attempting to grab the Matrix out from under Rodimus Primes mighty red bicep in mid tumbling. Geist succeeds in grasping Rodimus Prime, throwing him off-balance. Sunder shakes off the momentary paralysis and goes to finish what he started. Which is, helping Geist take on Rodimus Prime. And perhaps making sure the Decepticons get the Matrix? Sunder succeeds in grasping Rodimus Prime, throwing him off-balance. Kup snaps his musket rifle up at Geist. "Hands off that Matrix, Decepticon! It don't belong to your kind!" Firing a salvo of bright laser blasts at the Decepticon's legs. "And if there's something wrong with it we'll be the ones who fix it, not you jerks!" Kup misses Geist with his Musket Laser attack. OOC: The log cut off there, if you have the rest, add it, but that's the important stuff!